An apparatus connected into a computer network normally has ports mounted on the case of the apparatus. A port of the apparatus is connected to another device in the computer network by a cable attached to the port. The other end of the cable then connects to the other device.
A longstanding problem in installation of computer networks is insuring that the cable connected to a port of a network apparatus is connected to a known device at the other end of the cable. The device at the other end of the cable may be, for example, an end station, a repeater, a bridge, a router, . . . etc. And the internal configuration of a port of the apparatus may need to be adjusted within the apparatus to match the device connected at the other end of the cable.
That is, the apparatus may have a plurality of ports, and internally the apparatus may be capable of having different ports configured to accommodate different types of devices connected to different ports.
For example, a port connecting an apparatus to an end station may need to be configured differently from a port connecting the apparatus to a router. The differences between devices connected to a port can include features such as: data transfer rate, for example, 10 megabits per second or 100 megabits per second; amount of buffering provided for the port; the ability of the device to support full duplex transmission; or other features.
Ports mounted on an apparatus, but having different internal configurations within the apparatus, may all appear as identical ports mounted on the case of the apparatus. When a computer network is installed, for example in an office building, the installation is often done by semi-skilled people, so that the chance of mis-wiring and consequently mis-configuring a port of the apparatus is great.
There is needed an automatic method for an apparatus having identically appearing ports which must be configured differently internal to the apparatus, to detect the nature of the device connected to its ports so that the apparatus can automatically self-configure its ports.